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In the culmination of a research project lasting more than 20 years, over 1,600 pieces by the Belgian designer are now accessible to the general public. As of 29 August 2025, the digital catalogue will be available to users around the world at no charge. At www.wvz-henryvandevelde.de, researchers, museum representatives, private collectors, art dealers and interested members of the public will have the opportunity to view 1,657 models designed between 1891 and 1941.
The digital catalogue raisonné of the Directorate of Museums of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar contains the complete known works of metal, textiles, ceramics, wood etc. created by Henry van de Velde during his lifetime. Each entry contains information on the date the piece was designed, its dimensions, technique, materials, manufacturers, clients, provenances and preserved specimens. The documentation is supplemented with high-resolution images with a zoom function.
What makes the online edition particularly valuable is that it includes the first-ever presentation of 377 seating, relaxation and wicker furniture models. The corresponding photo and source material consists of approximately 800 images, e.g. historic photos of the furniture belonging to the artist’s estate, catalogues and an order book for wicker furniture. These sources played a key role in what is frequently a complicated attribution process. Introductory texts address questions concerning the furniture’s materials and its manufacture.
This project builds on the previous publication of three volumes of van de Velde’s works, edited by Thomas Föhl and Antje Neumann and produced on behalf of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar from 2009 to 2016. The catalogue entries published in book form comprise 825 metal works, 196 textiles and 256 ceramics, accompanied by more than 2,700 photos. In 2022 the Directorate of Museums of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar made the bold decision to shift course and produce an online edition. The digital version is a continuation of the former project in an entirely new form. The Directorate of Museums decided to temporarily postpone work on the print version to ensure the project’s completion within budget and with enough financing to make further additions to the catalogue even after publication. The funding providers were fully supportive of the project’s reorientation. Using the printed volumes as a basis, the digital publication underwent extensive revision and expansion. The IT experts Marc Blechschmidt and Christiane Kümpel designed a user interface that corresponded with the layout developed by the museum staff as part of the digital transformation of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar.
To contextualise the broad array of works, the digital catalogue includes four supplementary registries listing persons (419 entries), corporations (121), commissions (243) and exhibitions (87), accompanied by over 1,400 illustrations. The registries reveal the central protagonists, institutions and networks that influenced van de Velde’s work. Among his clients were well-known figures in society, such as Count Harry Kessler and Helene Kröller-Müller, as well as artisanal workshops like the basket weaver Ernst Schmiedeknecht in Tannroda and the cabinetmaker H. Scheidemantel in Weimar. Such information provides a substantial contribution to the provenance and collection history of countless works and a deeper understanding of their artistic, social and economic-historic contexts.
The online edition, edited by Bea Maybach and Manuel Schwarz, is designed to function as a dynamic platform that greatly simplifies research on Henry van de Velde and can be expanded as needed with new content. By 2027, the researchers plan to add some 700 entries on tables, storage furniture and small furniture to the catalogue, along with supplementary source material.
The Bremen art patroness Karin Hollweg congratulated the Directorate of Museums of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar: “This is an important milestone that not only represents a valuable contribution to art and design history but also creates an indispensable basis for future scientific study of Henry van de Velde’s extraordinary oeuvre. Your commitment and painstaking efforts have created a digital reference work that is sure to thrill researchers, students and art enthusiasts alike.”
Dr Annette Ludwig, Director of Museums of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar who oversaw the project, emphasised the importance of securing its crucial funding: “Without the outstanding, continued and generous funding from the Karin und Uwe Hollweg Stiftung and the Henry van de Velde Family Foundation, this ambitious digital publication would never have been possible. I’m so grateful for the trust they placed in us, and that we – with such a small team – were able not only to achieve this milestone in van de Velde research but also to set new benchmarks in the catalogue raisonné genre.”
The project was financed from 2001 to 2016 by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, and in 2008, by the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen. The Karin und Uwe Hollweg Stiftung in Bremen and the Henry van de Velde Family Foundation have been funding the research project since 2022. The project has also received the support of several international cooperation partners, including the École nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre with the Fonds Henry van de Velde ASBL (Brussels), the Archives et Musées de la Littérature and the Belgian Royal Library (KBR) in Brussels, the Ghent University Library and the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich.
Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to request an interview.
Sabine Walter Sabine.Walter@klassik-stiftung.de
www.wvz-henryvandevelde.de
Henry van de Velde (1863 – 1957), »Biart«-Sessel, 1895, benannt nach dem Schwager des Künstlers, des ...
Quelle: A. Burzik
Copyright: © Henry van de Velde Family Foundation
Online-Werkverzeichnis, Katalogeintrag, »Leuring«-Hocker, online WVZ-Nr. 1895
Copyright: © Henry van de Velde Family Foundation
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Henry van de Velde (1863 – 1957), »Biart«-Sessel, 1895, benannt nach dem Schwager des Künstlers, des ...
Quelle: A. Burzik
Copyright: © Henry van de Velde Family Foundation
Online-Werkverzeichnis, Katalogeintrag, »Leuring«-Hocker, online WVZ-Nr. 1895
Copyright: © Henry van de Velde Family Foundation
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